Madrid - Back to the Center of our Spanish Universe

Back in Madrid, and absolutely loving it. We got a tremendous deal on our hotel in Malaga, even better than we originally thought, and found another fantastic deal here in Madrid in a beautiful hotel with a fabulous location just a few blocks from La Puerta Del Sol. We are both really falling in love with Madrid. There is just so much vibrancy here. These little streets are packed full of bars, restaurants, and all sorts of shops. The train ride from Malaga today was pretty long, at 4 1/2 hours, but as usual, very comfortable, and a pleasure. It was great for Vee to get some video work done, and for me to observe the landscape. One thing that struck me is that the areas outside the cities are very much like what I've seen in Bolivia. Very agrarian, poor, and the lands seem very exploited and worn out. I've noticed that so much of the land is utilized, and has been carved out, mined, farmed, or left behind. The hillsides are terraced and farmed. There are areas where it looked like rivers once existed that are now either completely dry, or the remnants of a river barely trickle through. It is sad to see how much damage there has been to the land. Once in Madrid though, it's as if none of that ever existed. This city has a racing pulse and there is no end to the activity. Tonight, we explored our hotels surroundings and discovered a little microbrewery where Vee enjoyed un vino tinto de la casa, and I had dos cervezas tostadas(dark), and dos cervezas rubias(blonde), both of which were delicious. We also shared a plate of five appetizers consisting of bread pieces with various spreads, and some papas "bravas" which were fried potato pieces in a spicy creamy sauce and delicious! Afterwards, it was just a very short walk back to the hotel, with a very quick stop in a small market where we picked up some bread, apples, water and nutella spread. Back in our room, we are enjoying our snacks, and getting pumped up for our night out at Cafe Central, where there is going to be a jazz quintet playing tonight. It is a place listed in our book, Lonely Planet's Europe On A Shoestring, and we are very excited to go. It is going to be a bit pricey, but how often are we going to get to see jazz in Madrid in our lifetimes. More later.--*!##!*--It's 12:30am, and Madrid is still going strong. We just got back from Cafe Central where we got to witness a blazing performance by the Jose Antonio Ramos Grupo, a quintet from the Canary Islands featuring a frontman playing a timple, which is tiny guitar type of instrument. They tore it up! It was one of those performances that you just want to go on and on. Cafe Central is a quaint little joint with a corner stage, yellowish lighting, excellent sound, and attentive servers. The band was an instrumental jazz band, with a percussionist, flautist, bassist, guitarist and timple player. They finished their set with Stings "Englishman in New York", and for the first time all night, the bassist took the lead with vocals that sounded identical to Stings'. It was another FABULOUS night in Madrid. I don't want it to end.